Here are some grasses in our property that attracted my attention. I am looking for butterflies, but in these chaotic weed growth it is difficult to photograph butterflies. Even if they alight on some plants for a few minutes, it is still difficult to maneuver myself through the growths, so i would rather wait for them again to come near me in the clearing.
These are invasive weeds species. They tag on clothes whenever you come near them. When they happen to touch your skin, there will surely be scratches, and they are painful when taking a bath. They also tag along the hairs of goats, cattle and horses. That is their way of colonizing and spreading the species.
This is an invasive introduction to the country,
Chromolaena odorata. They have strong and deep roots that can withstand our long dry season, and they will be the first one to grow when the heavy rains come. They easily cover an area when left uncultivated. The sad thing about this is its poisonous effects with ruminants.
This is another introduced species, flowers not as lovely as the previous one, and also quite invasive. However, i still don't know the name, probably this is Mikania micrantha.
This is
Wedelia trilobata, or Singapore daisy. I wonder if it came from Singapore to have that name. But it is used as groundcovers before, so might have escaped cultivation and invaded the marginal sidestreets. This is easy to eradicate, so i love it. Besides, the butterflies love nectaring on their flowers.
I found this single petal Clitoria ternatea in a second growth forest when we passed to the other side of the ravine. I very well know it being used favorably these days in Edible Landscaping. There is a multipetal of this too. They are used in salads and also source of color for making blue rice, while the blended juice is also a good colorful thirst quencher. There are resorts and restaurants that cultivate this for their commercial business.
This is also a bushy weed, but i am not familiar with the identity. It lends beautifully through a macro lens, but the flowers are just 1 cm long, not very attractive to humans, but lovely for butterflies and other insects. The stem has a high tensile strength enabling goats to be tied on them when grazing. I guess this is of the Malvaceae family.
This Ipomoea pes-caprae is a cousin of the sweet potato . It is covering the smaller bushy weeds near the roadside. I wonder if maybe some butterfly larvae are eating the leaves. If time allows, i will observe them for longer periods.At the moment, i can only take its photo.
Such beautiful wildflowers! Absolutely wonderful! I love these little blue ones!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. It's too bad when such lovely plants are invasive and troublesome. That happens a lot here, too. Thanks for such a beautiful and informative post!
ReplyDeleteWe have some of the weeds here. Your macro photography render them most photogenic. I wonder how you get to identify weeds particularly when most people choose to ignore them.
ReplyDeleteWhen they are unwanted by humans, they are weeds. What do you mean "how I get to ID weeds"? Thanks for appreciating my photography!
DeleteSome of those are very pretty weeds. We also have invasive weeds which we have to keep under control, but they don't grow like that in our dry climate.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, snow-capped mountains are part of my daily life, as I get excellent view of Pikes Peak (elevation 4.3 km above sea level), first through the trees and later over the city buildings, every day when I drive to work. I would hate to give that up, although there are times when I'd love to move somewhere tropical.
some of them are really quite beautiful. I especially like the blue one.
ReplyDeleteWe are all blessed with wildflowers and tormented with weeds. The Clitoria grows here, too, come summer.
ReplyDeleteSome of these are very pretty like the last one and the daisy.
ReplyDeleteEven wildflowers can be beautiful.
ReplyDeleteQuite an array of wildflowers...some not as welcome as others.
ReplyDelete